PNGRFL confirms dates for zone champs

THE Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League has confirmed the dates for the National Confederate Championships which take place next month and September in Lae. PNGRFL competition manager Toksy Nema said that the Under-16, U18 and women’s zone championships would be on August 11-13 and the U20 and senior men’s competition would be on Sept 8-9. Nema said the initial date for the championships – which were supposed to this month – had been changed due to the elections. He said the U16 and U18 matches would be from Aug 11-12 while the women’s competition would be on Aug 13. Nema said the Southern, Northern, Highlands and New Guinea Islands confederates were preparing into the selection phase of their preparations for the championships which would be played at the Lae Rugby League Oval. Nema said the draws were confirmed and would be released this month. He said all fixtures would be the full 80-minutes and games would be played in a round robin format with the top finisher in each division declared the winner. Nema said there would be no finals.